Fael

For my money, this is the hardest fight in the game. Not the hardest fight for its level -- that would be the Slith Horror -- but the hardest fight, period. Much worse than Doriakis or anything else in the final chapter. So, don't feel bad about using up supplies (invulnerability poitions, inferno wands, etc.). There'll never be a place you need them more.

At the north end of the barren honeycomb are three ladders down. They all lead to the same little maze. In the center is a ladder leading up to another tunnel. Keep going north and eventually you'll reach the back entrance to Gladwell's.

There are several discussions of singletons, for those trying for a challenging way to attempt the game. I was wondering if anybody has tried playing with a party completely devoid of spellcasters? I was thinking, give everybody one level of priest spells, so that they can Minor Heal between battles and don't have to run back to town after every fight but, aside from that, no magic. Is this doable? I tried this in A4 and made it about halfway through the Great Cave before the lack of buffs and Unlock Doors made the game just too annoying and I gave up. It seems like A5 would be better suited for it, though. The new tool use system makes Unlock Doors much less important, and there are more Piercing Crystals (although I don't know to what extent the late-game barriers will succomb to them). presumably to make the Anama track viable. The revamped action point system, plus the Battle Disciplines make Haste much less critical, and the nerfing of Enduring Armor means I'll miss it a lot less than I did in A4. Finally, A5 has fewer creatures that aren't vulnerable to physical damage and weapons that allow melee fighters to do at least some magical damage. On the other hand, A5 has more tough combats, so not having a Priest who can heal for 100 points of damage a round is going to make some things pretty tough. as is, of course, the lost of Group Heal. Not having area effect spells is still a big problem (no idea how I could get through the slime pit in the Lake of Trials or The Black Horror without them). And, unlike in A4, there are all those lava vents in the late game that are going to be really hard to take without Prismatic Shield (although the game is designed so that you can win as an Anima, so this shouldn't be insurmountable). And there are still a few fights -- Repulsion Spheres, various Shades -- that require specific types of magical damage. Anybody actually tried this?

I think area effect spells are exactly the wrong way to go on this. Unlike the Unstable Masses, the Doomguards only split if they've taken damage that round. So, the trick is, you only want to ever damage one of them in a given round. But you want to damage that one really, really hard. Bless, Haste, Battle Frenzy if you've got it or Mighty Blow, if you don't. Let it go first, so that all four of your characters hit it before it moves again. Once it splits, pick one Doomguard and repeat, making sure not to damage the other. If it doesn't die, it'll split again and you'll be facing three, but two of them will be at very low hit points and should be killable without splitting again. Once I figured out the trick, it was a pretty easy fight. I only fought four of them total, with never having more than three on the screen at any one time. The only danger is if you accidentally damage one with a Riposte. Just don't use acid or poison and only use area of effect spells when you're sure they'll kill everything they hit.

That was probably my issue -- I wasn't debuffing enough. I tried slows and curses and stuff a couple times early on, but it seemed like it was still getting two attacks a round and blessing itself, so I eventually concluded my spellcasters would be better off concentrating on damage spells and trying to end the fight as quickly as possible (and use their area effect spells to take out the summons with incidental damage). One thing I wondered later, but never tried, was whether sending in the melee fighter was even a good idea? In all my numerous attempts at this fight, I didn't have very many rounds where I didn't have a melee fighter next to the Horror. But, when I did, it tended to throw spears at my mages. Normally, I hate that, but in the Horror's case, that's about the least irritating thing it can do, since I can heal the mage faster than the spears can damage it. Would that work as a long-term tactic, or would the horror eventually get bored and charge?

Well, I finally killed it. It only took me till 26th level...

Okay. I've cleaned out the Sentinal Workshop, defeated the Chitrach Queen, fought my way through the Howling Depths, entered the Lake of Trials and emerged victorious, and defeated Eyebeast Morbo. And I still can't beat the *@^ Slth Horror. Although, at least the battle is lasting a while now.

Wow. It wasn't until the end of Chapter 5 that I was finally able to kill...erm, the two Slith priests. Still no joy against the horror. Maybe after Chapter 6...

A4 was the first game in the Exile/Avernum series that I actually played past the demo. As a new player, I enjoyed it immensely. However, I agree with the consensus that A5 is much better. primarily because of the more interesting story with several choices that really matter to the course of how the game develops (and with no obvious "right" choice). I also find it much harder.

Yeah, no kidding. Moral of that story -- look to see where the next set of rapids is before going ashore...

The thing that makes the Lake of Trials so hard is that you come to it after running the Howling Depths, making your way down the river, etc., when you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere on your own. Hopefully, you found the healer after the Depths, so you were at full HP/SP when you started the river. But you can't get back to him now and you've got no idea how long until you've got another chance to recover your spell points. And you've got four tough fights, plus maybe a dragon, plus maybe an eyebeast. And the lesser stuff in the surrounding caves. And who knows what downriver. And you can't afford to have anybody go unconscious, because you've got no way of reviving them. And the thought of returning from upriver isn't an appetizing prospect, since you'd have to fight your way through the Howling Depths (and maybe the Anima Lands, if you've angered them) again to get there, which is not really an appetizing prospect. What? D'oh!